1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems and software and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for connecting personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, and computers for taking, tracking, delivering, and accounting for orders for goods at points of sale and delivery.
2. The Background Art
Event venues include stadiums, arenas, sports domes, ball fields, concert halls, and so forth. Associated with events, in many instances, are various merchandising operations. For example, refreshment concessions are often associated with events. Sometimes, events may have a substantial presence of multiple concessionaires. Food, drinks, trinkets, memorabilia, fan-appropriate clothing, and so forth, may all be available through one or more vendors present as concessionaires at a particular venue. Leaving one's seat at an athletic event, for example, may be problematic.
If a game or other event is particularly fast moving, such as in basketball or soccer, an individual must often miss a certain portion of the game in order to stand in line at a concessions stand back away from the seating area at some concourse dedicated to such concessions. Not just the wait at a location from which the sporting event cannot be viewed, but the entering and leaving of stadium seating may also obstruct the view temporally of other users, and so forth. The result is to diminish the experience the ticket holder and the other attendees. Moreover, the alternative decision may also cost the venue.
Individuals who prefer not to disrupt their neighbors, nor to miss a part of the game, may not purchase from the concessionaires. Thus, satisfying customers with the products of concessionaires, without disrupting the game is currently not an available option.
Moreover, in some venues, such as baseball parks, concessionaires often hawk products by way of vendors walking among the stadium seating. The hawkers themselves may become a distraction. Likewise, the transactions may also be interrupting to bystanders not involved in the transaction. Such hawkers may eliminate some of the waiting, such as waiting in line on some back concourse waiting for service at a concession booth. However, it is not clear that they produce any less anticipation, distraction, or change in focus for the user.
For example, a user must get the attention of the vendor. Thus, the user must pay more attention to the vendor for some period of time than to the game, in order to make sure that contact is made with the vendor, and that the vendor mentally puts the new potential customer in his or her mental cue for service in the very near future.
What is needed is a faster, more efficient, less disrupted system whereby customers can be satisfied with a maximum exposure to the event at a venue, maximum comfort with access to food, refreshment, memorabilia, or other merchandise, while the venue maximizes its revenue from ticket sales as well as concessions sales or royalties.